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ROXBURY -- Oakmont Regional girls' track star Alyssa Madden will have to think hard about what her goals for the future are, because in the last three weeks she accomplished everything she had previously set out to do.

Madden captured the ultimate of regional prizes on Saturday as she won the 300-meter title at the New England Championship at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, bringing home the school's first-ever individual New England crown.

Madden was one of a handful of local athletes who took part in the final official team competition of the year, and all made North Central Mass. and their respective schools shine bright on the biggest stage.

"I'm fairly sure that is the first New England title for the school for spring or indoor," Oakmont head coach Dan Dufour said. "It's great for the school, great for the indoor track program, it's great for younger kids to see what's possible, and it's definitely great for her, coming up in the future, knowing that she can do that."

Madden, still only a sophomore, has won every single race she entered this season, and that streak continued impressively at New Englands.

Medway's Ava Vasile -- who finished second to Madden at last weekend's all-state championship -- beat the Oakmont star to the break zone on Saturday. Madden kept close to Vasile around the last corner and made her move on the final straightaway, bouncing out to the second lane and out-legging Vasile to the finish, as Madden won the New England title in 39.72 seconds -- slightly slower than last week.

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Vasile finished second in 39.84. Both athletes are sophomores and will have years to continue to battle one another.

"Going into the last corner, in the last 100 meters, (Madden) was in second," Dufour said. "Vasile looked very strong, and had her by a 5- or 6-foot lead. Alyssa and I have been talking about all kind of scenarios, and she did exactly what she was supposed to.

"She was patient, and waited until she was coming right out of the corner, and opened up wide into a full sprint, and she took first by 2 or 3 feet. It was a really smart race."

Madden moves on to compete in next weekend's New Balance Indoor National Championship in New York City.

The New England Championship has the reputation for drawing elite athletes, but even by those standards, Leominster senior John Gove faced a daunting task in the 600-meter run. The top four runners entering the race boasted the top four times in the entire country -- although one was a late scratch.

Gove finished third (1:20.30) resetting his existing school record, and currently holds the fourth-fastest time in the event in the country. Gove will compete along with Madden at the national championships next weekend, where he will shift away from the 600 to the 400, which Massachusetts and New England do not offer during the indoor season.

"(Gove) went against really tough competition," Leominster head coach Karen Marino said. "He still improved his time, which he has done the last few races, which is an accomplishment in itself. I was very proud of him today, he held his own and was in front for a while, and they caught him in the second lap and ended up passing him in the end."

Fitchburg High's 4x200-meter relay might not have been fully healthy, but that did not stop the Red Raiders from breaking their own school record in the event. Eli Ashmore, Kobe Saddler, Charlie Jackson and Angel Figueroa posted a time of 1:32.11 and just barely missed out on a podium spot, finishing in seventh place.

The feat was all the more impressive given that Figueroa, the anchor leg, was suffering from an injury. Because of the injury, Figueroa did not run in the 300-meter dash, for which he qualified as an individual.

"(Figueroa) was cautious not to further injure himself, but collectively the team was good enough to break that school record again," Fitchburg head coach Cindy Donelan said. "Perhaps the adrenaline of being in New Englands pushed them to move faster."

Oakmont's John Caouette made his first trip to New Englands, entering as the eighth seed in the 55-meter dash. His time of 6.63 seconds was strong, but just a fraction of a second slower this week. He missed reaching the finals by 0.02 seconds, finishing ninth in his first year participating in varsity track.

"He was seeded eighth and placed ninth, that's still quite a feat," Dufour said. "To accomplish ninth in New England in your first year is pretty incredible. We're very proud of his accomplishments this season."

Nashoba Regional senior Erin McNemar put the finishing touches on a spectacular stretch to her senior season. After setting a personal record at 5 feet, 4 inches in the high jump last weekend, McNemar cleared 5-3 on Saturday, and just narrowly missed out on 5-5, which was still good enough for 11th place in New England.

"The goal was to get at least 5-3," Nashoba head coach Ben Langelo said. "The hope was to get a few good chances at 5-5, and that's exactly what happened. It's been a really successful season, and it was a great way to end it by getting to this stage."

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